This invention relates generally to a seat. More specifically the invention relates to a seat comprising a head rest assembly and to a head rest assembly attachable to a seat.
Traditional head rest assemblies for seats for vehicles do not offer protection against a side impact to said vehicle. In more recent years protection has been developed against side impact damage to users of seats in which the head rest assembly comprises side impact protection barriers, vertically oriented on either side of a user's head, in use. The side impact protection barriers may comprise a rigid support frame covered with a resilient, softer material designed to cushion a user's head should contact occur thereagainst. In the event of a side impact the user's head will be restrained from moving beyond the confines of the head rest assembly by the side impact protection barriers.
Provision of side impact protection in seats for children who are under a threshold size and/or age is or is becoming a legislative requirement in some jurisdictions (e.g. European Regulation ECE R129). Moreover, it is foreseen that such legislation may extend to require side impact protection in seats for users having a greater age and/or size in future.
Currently, seats including side impact protection are designed to accommodate a specific range of sizes of users. For example, such seats commonly accommodate children from birth up to 3 years old. If side impact protection is required for a user older than 3 years old (or taller than the threshold height value) then a different seat must be provided or the head rest assembly must be replaced. Such replacement is time consuming, inconvenient and costly, resulting in disincentives to utilize side impact protection if the user is beyond the threshold height and/or age afforded by the head rest assembly or seat in situ.
In our prior patent application WO2005/002909, we disclose a multiple occupancy car seat. The seat is provided with plural seat portions so as to accommodate an individual on each seat portion, thereby to increase occupancy and to allow plural individuals to be conveyed safely. One of the advantages of our car seat is that each seat portion can be configured to accommodate different size and/or age occupants. This means that as a child grows, or as the occupancy requirements change (for example when it is desired to convey two 12 year olds and two 3 year olds and subsequently four 8 year olds), the seat can be configured appropriately. The above-identified problem of side impact protection may be exacerbated in such a car seat.